Improvement in bee-hives



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Lam Patent .No. 93,081, dated July 17,1869.

IMPROVEMENT 11v BEE-HIVES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern.- I

Be it known that I, MILLER GRAHAM, of (Joshocton, in the county ofCoshocton, and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Bee- Hives; and I do hereby declare that the following'is a full andexact description of the same, referencebe-' big bad to .theaccompanying drawings, and to the lettexts of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to that class of bee-hives Figure 7 represents aside elevation with feed-box inserted.

To enable others skilled in the art tomake and use my invention, I willnow proceed to describe fully its construction and operation.

A A A represent sections of the hive, which may be of any desirednumber, and aregenerally square in shape, and are all constructed alike,with the exception of the upper one, A, which is provided with a roof orcap, a. Each section is provided with honeyframes, a, of any suitableconstruction.

B represents a sheet of heavy paper, or a thin piece of boardiprovidedwith perforations, b l), &c., which is placed between the sections toallow the bees to pass froui one to another, and prevent the connectionof the comb throughout the sections, thereby facilitating the detachmentof the honey.

0 represents the bottom of the hive, which is place( within the squareframe 0, with legs 0.

The bottom G is'const-ructed with sides sloping'abruptly inwards, comingnearly to. a point, and having a square orifice at the bottom, which isprovided with a pertbiated sliding plate, the object of which is toprovide for ventilation, and to clear the lower part of the hive fromrefuse, which would accumulate therein.

In the one side of the bottom piece 0 is placed, in 8.

suitable'recess, the sloping platform 0', the upper surface of which isa little lower than the surface of the bottom 0, toprovide an aperturefor the passage of the bees.

Beneath the platform O'i's a strip of tin, between which and theplatform is a slight space, the object of which is to deceive themiller, thereby leading her to suppose thesame to be the regularentrance to the hive, under which impression she deposits her eggstherein. v Each section A is provided at its lower edges with thestrips-d d, one on each side, which project below the same sufiicientlyfar to cover the joint made by the attachment of the sections, and tohold them in place, the strip (1 being cut away at d flush with thelower edge of the section, to form an aperture corresponding to thatabove the platform 0'. I

The sections are also provided with, sliding-lids, e, for the inspectionof the inside; also with orifices, f j,'&c., with the lids f f, &c., thetwo upper ones of whichbeing used for purposes of ventilation, and thelower, which are larger, for entrances to the hive, when the section inwhich they are is placed at the bottom of the same. If desired, similarorifices can be made in the back side.

F represents a square frame, of a size corresponding to that of thesections A, which is designed to be placed between the same, to "providean aperture for the reception of the box G, with the floatingperforatedor slotted cover g, which is constructed somewhat smaller in area thanthe box G, so as to admit of a free vertical motion in the same, and isprovided with the slots 72 h, or other suitable orifices,l by means ofwhich the bees are enabled to eat the honey contained in the box,without danger of falling into the same, as is frequently the case whenthey are fed in the hive.

It will readily-be seen. that my invention possesses many useful andvaluable points in regard to convenience and simplicity, as, by itspeculiar construction,

any number of sections may be employed, thus accommodating the hire to alarge or small swarm with great facility.

,- The arrangement for feeding the bees is also one of great advantage,whereby the usual danger of the bees falling into the material, andother obvious disadvantages, are avoided.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim as new,au'd desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The frame F, in combination with box G and perforated cover 9, as andfor the purpose set forth.

2. The hive above described, consisting substantially of the sections AA A, &c., bottom piece 0, frame F, feeding-box G, with lid g, andperforated pieces B, as and for the purpose set forth.

MILLER GRAHAM.

Witnesses CHARLES HoY, SAMUEL T. BABoooK.

